The biggest storyline is Boston moving Seguin, the former No. 2 overall pick and key acquisition from the highly-publicized Phil Kessel trade.

While the return for Seguin is significant, Boston trading away its leading scorer from two years ago is a major gamble.

Seguin, who turned 21 in January, has superstar-level talent. That said, Boston GM Peter Chiarelli recently expressed concern about Seguin’s maturity level and ability to grow as a player.

“He’s got to commit his mind and focus to the one task at hand,” Chiarelli said, per the Boston Globe. “He’s got to become more of a professional. You know what? I can say that about a lot of 21-year-olds. I know he got criticized for playing on the periphery and all that stuff. He did.

“He’s got to commit to being a professional and focusing on the game. Simple as that.”

This came after Seguin slogged through a disappointing playoff, scoring just one goal in 22 games while being reduced to third-line duty.

Peverley, meanwhile, had a tough 2013 campaign, scoring just 18 points in 47 games while boasting an ugly minus-9 rating. His ice time went down to 15:15 per night and he had just two points in 21 playoff games.

Peverley had been a solid contributor for Boston prior to the lockout-shortened season. He scored 12 points during the ’11 Cup run and averaged over 21 minutes per game in Boston’s first-round loss to Washington in 2011-12.

As for Dallas, this marks the first bold, signature move from general manager Jim Nill.

“Tyler is a dynamic player that will be a part of our core group for a long time to come,” Nill said in a statement. “A player at his age, position and talent level are extremely difficult to acquire and we’re thrilled to bring him into our organization.”

While there is a history between Boston and Dallas from the Jaromir Jagr deal, that move was orchestrated by ex-Stars GM Joe Nieuwendyk. Nill’s only other significant transaction thus far was acquiring defenseman Sergei Gonchar from Ottawa, then inking him to a two-year, $10 million deal.

It’s likely that Seguin’s and Peverley’s former Bruins teammate, Mark Recchi, had a role in this deal — he was hired as one of Dallas’ front-office advisors in mid-January.

In Eriksson, Boston gets an elite winger who shoots left, but can play both sides.

He scored at least 70 points in each of his last three full seasons (2009-12), made the 2011 NHL All-Star Game and scored 29 points in 48 games last year.

Eriksson, 27, has spent his entire seven-year career in Dallas and served as one of the Stars’ alternate captains. He has waived his no-trade clause to accept the move to Boston, according to ESPN’s Pierre LeBrun.

Important to note Eriksson has three years remaining on his six-year, $25.5 million deal, and his average annual cap hit — $4.25 million — is significantly less than Seguin’s $5.75 million, which kicks in next season.

Regarding the other pieces Boston acquired:

— Morrow, 20, was Pittsburgh’s first-round pick (23rd overall) at the 2011 NHL Entry Draft. He split last season between AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and Texas, and tied for the Stars’ team goalscoring lead in the playoffs.

— Smith, 22, scored nine points in 37 games for Dallas last year, and 35 points in 45 games for AHL Texas.

— Fraser appeared in 12 games for Dallas last year, but did finish second in the AHL in goals last year, with 33.

I agree with you. The Bruins need to get more than Eriksson back (maybe a first-rounder?), even though Seguin was enigmatic this season. He seems a bit immature off the ice, but 21 is a little early to pull the plug.

Haven’t seen anything on Peverley, but certainly the Bruins would like to dump that salary. Before everyone calls Chiarelli the next Mike Gillis, imagine if one of the prospects he pried loose was Nichushkin. I strongly doubt it, but that would be a home run of a deal for the Bruins.

Joe Morrow is a beast on the blue line…he’s unfortunately the best prospect/trading chip a lot of teams have si he being passed around. Mark my words- He WILL be a star in this league when he gets his shot. He was marked as Letangs possible replacement with higher defensive upside. The Bruins should be very happy with Eriksson, Morrow for Seguin, Peverly…they won this deal IMHO and I’m a Penguins fan.

If Dallas thinks they’re getting a 1st line Center, they should be pre-warned that Seguin was given the opportunity to move back to Center this past season when Bergeron got hurt and he failed miserably. He could not handle doing faceoffs and was moved back to wing permanently. You’ve been warned, Dallas.

killerpgh - Jul 4, 2013 at 2:45 PM

According to capgeek Eriksson has some type of NTC that kicks in tomorrow. If that effect a trade to the Bruins who knows, but it might make this trade get done in the next handful of hours. It’s impossible to judge this trade until all the parts are known.

You mean funny like Pittsburgh finishing the reg season 10 points ahead of Boston but Boston making it to the finals, not Pittsburgh? Or maybe funny like Iginla’s -4 in the playoffs? How bout funny like Iginla not re-signing with Pittsburgh? That ones pretty good! Oooo how bout this one…Pittsburgh having $40 million committed to 5 players for the 2014-2015 season? That’s ones a laugher!! Good luck fielding a decent 2nd, 3rd, or 4th line with no money left!! Crosby, Malking, Kunitz, and Letang can’t play every shift. Hahahaha

burgh916 - Jul 4, 2013 at 3:36 PM

Funny like your grammar.

mustangmach - Jul 4, 2013 at 2:46 PM

No, Boston, Don’t Do It!

ordinarysportsfan - Jul 4, 2013 at 2:47 PM

“As for Dallas, this marks the first bold, signature move from general manager Jim Nill, who has a history of dealing with Boston, having sent Jaromir Jagr to the Bruins at the deadline.”

How is that possible if Nill was hired after the regular season?

killerpgh - Jul 4, 2013 at 2:49 PM

Didn’t he trade for a sign Gonchar to an extension as well?

Mike Halford - Jul 4, 2013 at 2:53 PM

yes. was in mid-edit there. thanks.

Mike Halford - Jul 4, 2013 at 2:53 PM

sorry, was in mid-edit there (as you’ll see in the updated copy.) thanks for the heads-up, though.

69jaredallen69 - Jul 4, 2013 at 2:47 PM

How did Nill trade Jagr when he wasn’t hired till after the regular season?

Mike Halford - Jul 4, 2013 at 2:53 PM

sorry, was in mid-edit there (as you’ll see in the updated copy.) thanks for the heads-up, though.

mustangmach - Jul 4, 2013 at 2:48 PM

Boston is making knee jerk reactions. If they trade Seguin away, this is going to bite them big time. This is all fall out from demoting him over that blasted useless boat anchor Jagr.

mustangmach - Jul 4, 2013 at 2:54 PM

So let me get this straight: Boston is thinking of trading away a 21 year old lightning bolt, and considering resigning a 41 year old prima donna? I’ve been supportive of Chiarelli up until now, but I think his brain is a little burnt from losing the Cup in such a brutal fashion. He needs to cool his jets.

That’s if he keeps it between the pipes. About 30% of those limp wristers from the low slot, where he was one on one with the goalie, went wide or high.

burgh916 - Jul 4, 2013 at 3:34 PM

Bad move for Boston. I expect to get swept with the dislikes since I said Boston did something bad but, everyone competent hear me out. It seems a very knee-jerk reaction. Yes he didn’t perform really at all during the playoffs, and it seems the team has really hated his behavior off the ice from their comments. But, he was still your top scorer a few seasons ago, and the kid is only 21, he will mature on and off the ice. Yes, Eriksson is EXTREMELY good, and very underrated, I just have no idea why you would trade your 2nd overall pick so early, unless it was a complete bust.

I just don’t think that Seguin would have realized his potential in Boston’s system. He could turn into a superstar in Dallas, but you can’t really fault the Bruins if that happens, since he probably wouldn’t have reached that height on their team.

I’d rather get a few guys back who can fit in their system than to have one guy who has all the potential to be great, but who can’t reach that height on the team he plays for. know what I mean?

burgh916 - Jul 4, 2013 at 3:56 PM

Now that you mention that, you are right. I noticed that during Bruins games I’d watch in the playoffs, or if we played them in the regular season, he seemed “over shadowed” with their defensive forward stars.

Exactly. With the Stars, Seguin will have more time and space to ply his trade. And also, Texas girls are totally SMOKIN HOT, so he’ll have even more skirts to chase in his off hours.

We’ll take a consistent 60-point guy, a salary-cap reduction of $4.5MM, a first round pick from 2011 who has proven to be a scorer in the AHL, and prospect and a scrub, in return. We have lots of quality moving parts to work with.

Jumbo Joe has no cupa and likely won’t ever have one. s traded Joe after he signed for a league max and proceeded to lean on his stick for the first 2 months. It was then decided to build a team around another young player, ne who possessed, grit, hardworking, team concept and was popular in the locker room. One that did his job everyday with effort. That player was Patrice Bergeron and this info came from Mike O’Connell GM at the time interviewed right before 2011 cup run. Joe is a very good player, his best years 2 of them at Boston was when he played with over 100 penalty minutes and playing with an edge. The remaining years were HO hum. It was time to cut bait with thorton, I for one thought it should have been done before his big contract.

I am not a happy Bruins fan right now. The team that gets the best player in these deals, wins. The kid is 21 and his best is coming very soon. Aaaaaaargh!!!!! N

pepper2011 - Jul 4, 2013 at 9:12 PM

We traded Kessel for Kessel, but we got Hamilton and now Eriksson, and Morrow at worst will be 4th defenseman, but with the potential to be a 2 or 3. Smith and Fraser were NHL’ers last year. I admittedly don’t know much about them, but what I’ve read is that one or both could be pretty solid.

Seguin will put up Kessel like numbers, but he’s not what they wanted him to be and he never was going to be. Some guys just aren’t physical; you could tell he was trying to be in the playoffs, but it’s just not natural with him. Factor in that he was on the wing and the system depends on the wings winning battles; it was just never going to work here. He will be a heck of an offensive player; much like kessel and I do think he made pretty big strides defensively, but he’s not going to be Yzerman. He will probably put up pretty comparable numbers to Eriksson (flip the goals and assists). This also strengthens their stock of young defenseman; Krug, Hamilton, Morrow, Bartkowski – That’s four guys that project as top 4 defenseman in addition to Chara, Seidenberg, Mcquaid and Boychuck. I expect there is more to come as well. With the new additions (I hope they don’t) I could see them moving Paille and hope they do (kelly).

This is a good thing. I wish they traded him straight up for Landeskog, but I don’t think Colorado would have done it.

Highly entertaining watching some Boston fans who claimed Seguin was a superstar and the Leafs were fleeced in that trade now trash the guy.

Still, there HAS to be stuff here that isn’t public. Yeah Seguin sucked in the playoffs, but he didn’t move himself to the third line and play himself at wing. So you can’t really be surprised his productivity fell off. Chiarelli has said publicly Seguin has maturity issues, but Chiarelli also admitted MOST 21 year olds, especially ones making a lot of money, have maturity issues.

The only logical conclusion is that Boston concluded Seguin WONT ever become a superstar, because when a 21 year old who HAS performed at the NHL level at a superior level is dumped, in what seems partly a salary move, no other explanation makes sense. You just don’t move that kind of an asset.

The party that sequin seemed to enjoy is not a single matter, it happened numerous times, including his rookie year. Seems to be an on going problem, keep in mind we are 3 years into his lifestyle with apparent no improvement. Allegedly he was out quite bit in Toronto playoff series.

At age 21 its time, these excuses with some are that he is only 21, I don’t buy it and never will.

I believe that winning a Stanley Cup so early on in Seguin’s career derailed his long term drive and focus. The Bruins need players that possess an insatiable hunger for greatness, not players that will be out all hours of the night during the Leafs-Bruins series, showing up to the rink in the same clothes for three straight days as was reported of Seguin. Eriksson is a great two-way player that made the successful transition from playing Swedish ice hockey to the NHL. He could be a huge asset in the development of Carl Soderberg

dolanster - Jul 4, 2013 at 4:52 PM

Anyone who thinks this is a bad deal for Boston hasn’t seen enough of Eriksson. Guy is strong all around and head to head would abuse Seguin the way he’s playing now. AND we get to dump the Peverley contract, allowing us to add another top-6 guy before the week is over. This is just part 1. A smart move by Peter C.

Deal saves approx 4.75 mil. Ericsson slots on top line with Krejci and Luc. With savings can hopefully land Alfie to join Bergeron and Marchand. Just need someone to emerge to take the 3rd line spot with Kelly and Soderberg cuz we all know the 4th line is set. D corps of Z, Seids, McQuaid, Boychuk, Krug, Bartkowski, Hamilton, Morrow…G of Rask, Svedberg (best in the AHL in 12-13), the likable Subban…an embarrassment of riches. I’ll take my chances with that group, though they could use some depth at forward.

After all that Boston ends up with Joe Morrow dude is gonna be a beast and him and Whats his name Krug? can be paired for years

gallyhatch - Jul 4, 2013 at 6:17 PM

As a Bruins fan, think I’m fine with it.

I agree with the notion that 21 is young, and it may be early to give up on him…. With that being said, offensive stars simply do not seem to fit in in the Bruins’ defensive system. I like Eriksson, and am excited to see what he brings to the table…

I think Seguin will be a star in this league, but it didn’t feel like it was going to happen in Boston.

Whomever brought up the Joe Thornton trade as a bad move by the Bruins just hasn’t been paying attention over the last several years.

cloudniner9 - Jul 4, 2013 at 6:41 PM

I am amazed how many people on this site know nothing about hockey, If I owned a team I would take a GM with a track record of 2 SCF in three years, and it looks like he is working his magic again. With the amount of talent added in this deal the Bruins have loaded up on depth again. Hate all you want but they just improved their chances at another run

phillyphanatic77 - Jul 4, 2013 at 6:36 PM

Personally I think this is a strong deal for both sides. Boston clears cap space, gets an excellent, underrated player in Eriksson, and some solid prospects. Dallas gets a legitimate top-line forward (either C or wing) to pair with Benn, and a player in Peverly who has the ability to put up 20+goals and win faceoffs. Seguin fits great in the young core Dallas is assembling. And this allows Chiarelli to pursue a FA while resigning Rask. I’m sure it’s difficult to trade a 21-yr old, former top pick, but his growth seemed to be stagnating in Boston’s system. He’ll get top-line minutes now. I really like what Nill is doing down there, but it’s a good deal for both sides.

nhstateline - Jul 4, 2013 at 7:04 PM

and you hot on exactly what I’m not happy about: “his growth seemed to be stagnating in Boston’s system”. I blame that on the organization and, given that they have another 19 year old on their roster, I’m concerned that two years from now they’ll give up on him. I was worried when they got Seguin that this coaching staff had no interest or ability to develop a player like that and it seems I was right.

dolanster - Jul 4, 2013 at 6:38 PM

Today’s team management is as much about money as talent. The bottom line is the Bruins need cap relief, or they’d be a worse team next year with two holes on the top 2 lines. Now they replace a guy with a comparable producer and recoup $1.5M doing so, and shed a $3M contract for a guy who wasn’t doing anything. Now they can sign their #1 netminder AND add another top-6 forward to fill their holes all within the cap. It didn’t look possible a week ago, and now it looks probable. If they add someone like Clowe or Alfredsson all of a sudden this will look like genius. I think it’s a great move. You can’t ask one guy to play with a broken rib while his younger teammate is out partying all night. You gotta set one expectation and make everyone live up to it. Tyler was given the talk. He didn’t respond. Out. Well done, Bruins.

cloudniner9 - Jul 4, 2013 at 8:56 PM

wow, nail on the head if there was one, you summed it up better then most and lets see who they pickup with room for a free agent. maybe Ribbaro

insider7 - Jul 4, 2013 at 7:42 PM

Hit the road, you punk! Now you can can get drunk off your butt in Dallas and chase skirts while the Bruins chase another Cup.

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Although many pink hats and bandwagon fans will criticize this deal, this is a great one for the Bruins. Eriksson is a consistent 70-point guy that plays both ways. Morrow has top 4 upside. Fraser looks plays in the David Clarkson mold, and Smith has a great release on his shot. The Bruins might have lost a potential 40-goal scorer, but they improves their squad in the long run and shed about $5 million in cap space. Well done PC.

dolanster - Jul 4, 2013 at 11:48 PM

Well said. Seguin might end up great, but not inside the Bruins’ system. Guys that get weaker at playoff time don’t fit (see comment far above re: Thorton).

nhstateline - Jul 5, 2013 at 7:16 AM

“The Bruins might have lost a potential 40 goal scorer” No biggie, those come along all the time in Boston and this team under Claude has been able to score goals by the bushel. Not.

This is a good short term trade but that’s what it is. There’s a decent shot Seguin gets his act together in Dallas and is a major star in the league 5 years from now. Loui Erickson will be where in five years ? They’ll have Morrow as one of their top D but as for the other two guys, who knows ?
I like the job Chiarelli has done with the Bruins but this trade shows both of the flaws that he’s had: 1) managing the salary cap and 2) drafting and player development. Anymore high draft picks they some how happen to get they should just trade for a puck moving defenseman, and some combination of a middle level vet and a prospect. These are his real strengths in identifying talent. He hits on guys like that consistently.

Kind of like Fraser and Smith. Although they’re not vets, both project to be able to contribute right away, and Fraser’s style fits right in with how the Bruins play. Great stats in the AHL for a young guy. As for Eriksson, easily one of the most underrated players over the past 5 years, consistent 70-point producer and plays a solid two way game where he can be used on both special teams units, and he’s only like 27-28. Pretty sure they won a cup without a 40 goal scorer too, and got two games away this year. For any flaws Chiarelli has had, two finals in the last three years seem to be a pretty good return.

I don’t know about this trade. I felt that Seguin was going to rebound and really step it up this upcoming season. I thought Chiarelli’s first lambasting of Seguin’s behavior after the playoffs was to get him to not spend his summer chasing broads, getting hammered, and throwing money around and to focus on getting a little bigger and better.

Seguin has good hands. With a little more size and cajones, he is set to be an elite player. A little more patience might have been in order to get him through it, but perhaps he already played his “get out of jail free cuz I got talent” cards and Cam Neely and company had reached the breaking point. Maybe getting him away from Marchand will help. Whatever the case, I was really looking forward to watching him “become a Bruin” and break out.

Fact of the matter is, we don’t know what goes on behind the scenes and Chiarelli generally makes very smart moves, so while I am unhappy to see him go, I’m hoping it works out for both. I’ll miss watching him play – he is a few pounds and a step or two away from true hockey greatness. Hopefully the Stars fans will appreciate what they just got.

Peverly had a bad season (maybe due to the lockout, who knows), but the guy is a good player and perhaps he can play through his slump and step up to being a solid contributing 2nd liner.

Horton gone, Jagr, Seguin…. Is Rask really worth all this? Horton wants to go play in nowhereland instead of sticking around with a good group that can complete for the Cup again next year. It makes no sense.